Mica-building machine.



J. A. BURNS.

MICA ulLnlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1ULY\T|\912.

Patented July 31, 1917.

ATTORNEYVVA UNTED STATES PATENT JAMES A. BURNS, 0F PITTSBURGH', PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORT'TO. WESTINIGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

MICA-BUILDING- 'MACH-INE.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented' July 31, 1917.

Application -ledl'uly 17, 1912. Serial No. 710,066;

T0 all llli/0m t 'muy concern.'

lle 1t known that l.V JAiiins A. Bulma, a citizen ot' the United States,- iiiid a resident of Pittsburgh, .in the county of Allegheny:

and State of l-ennsyli'anim have invented a new and useful Improvement in lVlica-Building Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines that are employed in the manufacture'ofy insulating materials from scales or lamino mica, and it has'for its object to prov-ide a machine whereby the manufacture vmay be carried on substantially uninterruptedlyand with great reliability and economy.

It has heretofore been proposed to manu--y facture plates or boards of insulating :material by dropping scales or laminae ofk mica and powdered binding material into the upper end of a suitable tower, and receiving the saine at the lower end of the tower upon veniently inserting the heated receivingv plates and of removing the said plates and the assembled sheets of mica.

My invention, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 of which is a side view of a machine constructed in accordance therewith, and Fig. 2 is an end view of the said machine.

The mica scales and powdered binding material are distributed and dropped by any suitable means into the upper end of a tower 1, only the lower end ofI which is here shown, the said lower end being provided with a short extension 2 that closely fits thev same and is movable longitudinally thereof through a short range. The top of the extension 2 is preferably provided with strips of felt which bear against the sides ofthe tower thereby making a close joint between the extension and the tower. The extension 2 is carried by links 3, the upper ends of which are pivoted to operating 'levers 4 located at or near the corners of the. tower,

the levers upon the saine side thereof being mounted upon, and rigidly secureiilfto,` shafts 6, and the levers upon opposite Sides-.ofy the tower being connectedby means .of links or rods 7, the said means being provided to cause all of the levers lto inove simultaneously and correspoiidingiy and to: thereby raiseand lower the extension2--uniformly upon all sides.

Directly and .centrally heneaththe tower 1 is a bed or stand 10 having longitudinal tracksfll upon which a table 12 isfniounted, the tracksbeing provided with roller -bear ings 13 for the table.

.65 Thetable12 is prov vided, upon it-s under side, with racks 14- i that mesh with `pinions 15 carried by a trans-verse shaft 16 having'Q handTwheels 17 at its opposite ends. Thetable AmayA thus be moved longitudinally voithe stand-orv bed' by rotation ofthe hand wheels The table is adapted to receive and carry a plural-ityl of rectangular 'receiving frames 18 having `substantially. thevsame .internalf dimensions asr the `tower extension Each J of the said frames compri-sesfoury side members thatl are detachablysecured .together at their ends `by means of bolts 19, the removal ot' which permitsofV readily disasscmbling of the: frames. The frames 18 are-adapted to` receive `heated plates 2O upon which paper is l'ircferably placed in korder to prevent the mica fromy adhering` thereto, and the framesare adapted to be placed successively directly beneath the tower torreceive the falling mica scales ,and

powdered binding material. lVhen -the mica and binding material ,are kdropped in the tower, the extension 2 is, ofcourse, lowered until it rests upon lthe upper end of a receiving lframe 18, thereby preventing the. esca'pcof the said materials and the ingress of drafts which might linterfere with the proper distribution of the materials, the tops of the receiving frames being also preferably-provided with strips of feltrwhich-.make tight joints between the parts. The ends vrof the receiving frames are provided with notches to permito-t' the insertion of bars 2 1 whereby the frames and their contents may be lifted from theftable.

In the operation of; themachine, a heated plate is first placed in one of the receiving frames with a sheetof paper upon it, and the said fram-eis then moved beneath the tower. The extension 2vis then lowered and the mica and binding,material are dropped into the upper-end of the tower. When a sufiicient amou-ntof the said materials ,has

at the same time, another frame having aA heated plate is moved beneath it.- The tower extension 2 isthen lowered upon the new frame, and, while mica and binding material are dropped into the tower, the material ot' y the sheet or plate first formed is arranged manually as may be necessary or desired, and another plate is placed therein, 'the heat of which assists in melting the binding material, while its weight serves to compress and compact the materialsbeneath it. The operation continues in this manner until the frames are filled with heated plates and mica sheets, whereupon, the receiving frames are removed from the table, and disconnected at their corners, leaving the plates and interposed mica in a stack until they have cooled and the binding material has set.. The insulating sheets are then ready V for subsequent treatment and are removed.

I claim as my invention 1. A machine for manufacturing mica insulation comprising a tower, a movable eX- tension at its lower end consisting of a rigid frame, a receiving frame, and means for effecting a sufiiciently tight fit between said extension and the receiving frame to prevent the ingress of drafts into the tower, said re-4 v:subscribed my name this 5th day of July, V1912.

J. A. BURNS.

Witnesses:

O'r'ro S. SCHAIRER, B. B. HINES. 

